The protein implicated in the induction of apoptosis was the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 as shown by the downregulation of Bcl-2 RNA or protein in peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) following infection with M. bovis BCG or induction with heat-killed M. tuberculosis H37Ra (Klingler et al. 1997) (Fig. 4). This evidence concerns the gene BCL2 and infection.